Cleaning and/or treatment compositions may employ materials that produce suds. In certain cleaning and/or treatment compositions, the level of suds is higher than desired. One manner of reducing suds is to add an antifoamer to the cleaning and/or treatment composition. Unfortunately, the stability, and thus the performance of antifoams may, over time, be compromised by other formulation ingredients.
Applicants recognized that the source of the stability problem was certain moieties that are found on certain formulation ingredients. Such formulation ingredients include certain perfumes and solvents. While not being bound by theory, Applicants believe that the problems associated with such formulation ingredients arise as such formulation ingredients penetrate the antifoam and thus separate a key component of the antifoam from the remaining antifoam ingredients. Applicants recognized that such separation could be mitigated by covalently bonding the antifoam components together before incorporating them in the cleaning and treatment composition. While not being bound by theory, Applicants believe that such antifoam components react such that Si—O—Si groups are formed from the reaction of Si—OH and/or Si—OR groups on one antifoam component with another antifoam component's Si—OH and/or Si—OR groups wherein R is a methyl, ethyl, or propyl group and certain Si—O—Si groups already present before such reactions break and reform in a more preferred order thus yielding the superior antifoam. Such covalently bonded antifoam materials and compositions comprising same are disclosed herein.